


The Fantastic Adventures Of Peter... The Dog?

by LlibLo



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Gen, Mjolnir is a Horse, Normal life as a dog, Peter Parker is a Shiba inu, Peter still has spider powers, Spider-Dog?, Weird Magic, something happened
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-12-12
Packaged: 2019-07-14 04:33:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16033061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LlibLo/pseuds/LlibLo
Summary: Peter only remembers waking up one morning with the rest of the Avengers at the compound. There was no alarm and the day was fairly calm, at least that's what he thinks happened.The only thing he knows for sure now is that he woke up this morning as a dog, and he had always been a dog, at least that's what his memories told him. He remembers being sent to the pound as a puppy and how scary it was with the larger dogs trying to intimidate him, he remembers Tony Stark and Pepper Pots walking into the room looking at the other animals until their gaze fell on Peter. He was almost worried they wouldn't pick him. He was almost convinced that that was his life. Almost was the key word.When he woke up that morning he thought life as Peter Parker the Spider-Man was just a strange dream, but it wasn't until he found he could climb up walls that he realized just how wrong he was.ORPeter and the rest of the Avengers had a thing happen to them and now they live in a small town out in the middle of nowhere Kansas. Everyone there goes through their new daily lives with no recollection of who they used to be and the only one that truly remembers is Peter, but maybe things aren't so bad like this.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah... this is a thing I made up. I shouldn't let my mind wander. 
> 
> Also the pic is what I'd imagine Peter would look like as a dog. Hope you agree.

Peter quickly discovered that things weren’t so bad as a dog, he'd admit that the idea of eating dog food was kinda gross at first, but it helped that Mr. Stark always bought the best stuff. The canned food he was given at dinnertime really did taste like the intended flavors, though he doubted he'd have the same opinion as a human. He seemed to have different preferences on food as a dog.

As a human, Peter specifically remembered hating the taste of tomatoes but one afternoon while Mr. Stark was fixing his lunch he dropped a tomato slice on the floor, and because of some strange urge driven by canine instinct Peter ran over, snatching the slice in his mouth. Mr. Stark tried to fight the tomato out of Peter's jaws but there was no way the man was any match against a dog with the proportional strength of a spider.

In conclusion the tomato was delicious, almost the greatest thing he’d ever tasted. It was only bested by the bacon pieces Mr. Stark sneaked him while Pepper wasn't looking. Pepper was out on business a lot, so on the mornings Mr. Stark was making breakfast by himself they would play a game to see how far across the room could Peter catch the bacon in his mouth. It should go without saying, but the bacon never touched the ground.

Over all, he spent a lot of time with Mr. Stark, more then he had when he was human. Peter would walk around town with him, fetch tools in the workshop for him, and would even go to work with him. There was something inside Peter that didn't like to let Mr. Stark out of his sight, he blamed it on dog instinct, but that didn't stop him from occasionally exploring the town on his own. Mr. Stark didn't seem to mind either because Peter made it his goal to always return before dinner.

So all in all, being a dog was pretty relaxing and Mr. Stark seemed to enjoy his new life too. Even on days the older man missed Pepper for being away too long, he looked happier than Peter had ever seen him as Iron Man.

* * *

 

Day 8

It was October 11th, a Thursday.

Pepper had to leave again yesterday for work, she was the CEO of some big oil company in the area. Peter didn't recognize the name; he suspected that it had been miraculously created with the same magic that affected him and the rest of the avengers. At night, Peter would use Mr. Stark's laptop when everyone in the house was sleeping. It wasn't exactly an easy task but he managed it with his nose and a lot of patience. He only used the computer, however, if he really needed to look something up, otherwise the effort wouldn’t be worth it.

This morning started like usual, Peter was awake before Mr. Stark and he took the opportunity to do things a dog should not be able to do while no one was looking. He thought it was smart to keep his non-canine abilities and mannerisms a secret while he figured out what was going on.

The bathroom was Peter's first stop, even as a dog he really didn't like the idea of doing his business outside. It wasn't easy to sit on the slick toilet as a dog but with his ability to stick to almost any surface -because of the spider bite- at least he didn't have to worry about falling into the toilet.

His next stop was gathering the newspaper, Peter was positive that the only reason Mr. Stark read the thing was for the cartoon strips in the back. Otherwise the older man seemed to get all the local news he needed from the newspaper's website.

With the doggy door on the back porch Peter had to go into the back yard, jump over a gate that a normal dog wouldn't be able to jump over, and walk down a narrow sidewalk that led to the front lawn. By the time he got there, it was the exact time the paper delivery showed up.

Clint Barton, otherwise known as Hawkeye, sat in the back of a truck expertly tossing papers at people's door steps while Natasha drove.

~~**Hey guys!** ~~ Peter barked a greeting at them.

Clint tapped the roof of the cabin signaling for Nat to stop the truck. "Looks like out favorite pooch is giving us a good morning"

Natasha already had her window down and leaned out the side to pet Peter on the head when he approached the truck. "Hey buddy, you’re an early riser just like us. It's a shame you're stuck with a night owl like Tony," she joked, still scratching behind Peter's ear. Peter would never admit it, but he understood why dogs liked to be pet.

~~**It's not so bad.** ~~ Peter gave a quiet woof.

"Hey, Pete! Want to see how far you can catch it this time?" Clint said holding up the newspaper and shaking it in a teasing faction.

~~**Hell yeah!** ~~ Peter let out an excited bark before bolting off down the street. He stood about half a block away.

"Make it quick guys, I don't want to fall behind on our route" Natasha said in a plain tone but a small smile was at the corner of her lips.

"It'll only take a sec," Clint said before standing on the roof of the truck "Ready Peter?" He called.

~~**Bring it on!** ~~ Peter yipped in response.

"There's no way he can catch that" Natasha said as she leaned forward against the steering wheel to watch Peter through the windshield.

"He caught yesterday's," Clint said as he pulled his arm back.

"But that was three mailboxes closer" Natasha watched as the newspaper launched forward, barely missing the lower limbs of a nearby tree.

Peter watched the newspaper with a deadlock stare and the moment it was close enough he jumped into the air perfectly, catching it in his mouth.

"Call me impressed," Natasha said with an amused tone as she leaned back into her seat. They both watched as Peter came sprinting towards them, stopping just next to the truck and looking at both of them.

Clint hopped down from the truck's roof next to Peter. He started petting peter behind both ears in a playfully violent fashion that shook Peter's whole head. "Who's an awesome dog?" He said in that dog voice that Peter was slowly starting to get used to. "Nat, we should totally try to steal him again. Just think of the tricks we could do if I stuck a tennis ball at the end of one of my arrows!"

"Barton!" Someone called, but Peter immediately recognized the voice and had to put some effort to look towards the front door of the house since Clint was still holding his head. "You're not trying to steal my son again, are you?" Mr. Stark said, accusingly, as he took a sip of his steaming coffee.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Clint said, still violently petting Peter.

"Yes he was," Natasha called.

~~**He totally was.** ~~ Peter barked.

"Traitors, the both of you," Clint said before finally letting go of Peter.

Peter padded back towards the house once he was free and sat next to Tony, slightly leaning towards the man's leg as Tony reached down to scratch behind Peter's ear.

"See ya around, Tony," Natasha called with a small wave.

Mr. Stark just replied with a slight nod. The two ex-spies drove away, continuing on their delivery route.

Peter looked up at Mr. Stark with the paper still in his mouth, the man gazed down at him.

"Now the real question is how did you even get out here, I know for a fact the back gate was locked," he asked, raising an eyebrow.

~~**I jumped over the fence using super abilities that I got from a radioactive spider that bit me when I was a human teenager.** ~~ Peter gave a muffled woof.

Stark sighed, "Guess I'll never know. I swear, you're the reincarnation of Houdini," he smiled and ruffled the hair on Peter's head before turning to go inside. Peter padded on in behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, that was fun. It was a short thing I'll admit but I think it's got potential. If you guys like it I would like to hear your opinions and even suggestions of scenes you might want to see. Since it doesn't really have a set plot I'm open for anything and everything, and as things currently set the relationships between the characters are similar to how they would be in the movies:
> 
> Pepper and Tony live together (But are not married yet)  
> Bucky and Steve are bffs  
> Natasha and Clint are bffs  
> Tony and Steve are still rocky at best  
> Tony avoids Bucky if at all possible  
> Sam and Steve are good friends  
> Rhodey and Tony are bffs
> 
> That's that i can think of that's relevant right now 
> 
> But hey maybe some drama would be fun if that's what ya'll are interested.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter and Stark head off to work and the sleepy town is kicking into its morning routine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad a lot of you are enjoying this Fic. It's awesome!  
> I was planning to start writing this chapter later this week but ya'll got me excited so here you go!

Peter was currently laying on the couch watching the national news that Mr. Stark often had on the TV in the mornings. The man was still getting ready and it would probably take 20, maybe 30, minutes before they finally left the house. 

The house itself was actually kinda nice. It was probably the smallest place Mr. Stark had ever lived in (not that he would know that) but it was by no means small.

It was a single floor layout with a basement. It had two bedrooms and two bathrooms along with a study in the right section of the house. The main portion of the house was the living room, dining room, and kitchen set up with an open floor plan. It was in an ‘L’ shape with the dining room in the bend. The place didn't feel too crowded or too empty, it felt like home.

Peter held his head up as he watched Mr. Stark tiredly make breakfast in the kitchen, a quick sniff to the air told Peter there was no bacon that morning so he didn't bother getting up. He just laid his head down letting it rest on his front paws as he watched the news.

<In other news, the mysterious disappearance of the Avengers is still under investigation...> The spokeswoman said.

That was another weird thing about this place, everyone seemed to be aware of the Avengers missing. The Avengers themselves were aware of them missing, but whenever the conversation was brought up it was subtly changed and no one -not even the news reporters- used the Avengers real names. Only their code names, which was still weird; and because Thor didn't have a code name, whenever he was mention in the news it was always the God of Thunder title.

Peter stopped trying to point out the news whenever the Avengers were mentioned, it usually only led to a pillow being tossed at him by a Mr. Stark who's coffee hadn't kicked in yet.

Well, the odd phenomenon did prove one thing: that whatever was causing this seemed to have a large influence. That was kinda scary considering Peter didn't even know what had caused it, but there was a small notion in the back of his mind that was considering that maybe this ‘Influence’ wasn't evil. Why else would it put everyone in happy life?

Even still, his ‘happy life theory’ didn't explain why Peter was a dog, but Peter does have a few theories. One being that maybe Peter's mind couldn't be wiped like the others so the Influence resorted to turning him into an animal to keep him from telling the others. At least he wasn't a squirrel, Peter hated squirrels... or was that the dog instincts talking?

Mr. Stark gave a short whistle -snapping Peter out of his thoughts. Peter's head shot up as he looked over in the man's direction with his ears perked up. Mr. Stark was standing ready at the front door with his hand on the doorknob. Peter must have been pretty out of it to not notice Mr. Stark walk in front of the TV which was now turned off.

Peter jumped off the couch and padded over to to doorway. Mr. Stark looked a little concerned.

"You alright buddy?" He asked gently petting Peter's ear. "I called you three times before you answered"

~~**I'm fine, just lost in thought.** ~~ Peter let out a small gruff.

Mr. Stark just patted Peter's head affectionately, "Right well let's go, Petey."

Peter pushed out the door, padding down the small path that led from the front porch to the sidewalk, and waited for Mr. Stark to lock the door before meeting him down there.

Mr. Stark led the way down the sidewalk as they headed for Main Street. It was about four blocks away but it was a pleasant walk nonetheless. Mr. Stark liked to ramble about ideas for different inventions and theories involving any topic. Peter loved to listen, and even tried to give input, not that Mr. Stark knew what he meant.

Turning onto the red brick road of Main Street, Mr. Stark was interrupted in his ramblings when he ran into someone after turning a corner. Fliers were dropped to the ground and Peter pounced on the mass of them to keep the breeze from bowing them away.

"Tony!" 

"Steve..."

Peter looked between the two, the tension would have normally made him feel awkward, but as a dog that wasn't really the case. Mostly because he was never in the conversations; he was just a silent observer from below.

Look at Steve's clothes brought a bit of a shock to Peter. The man was wearing an old style Captain America suit, it was very similar to the USO costume he wore when selling bonds. Did he figure it out? Peter got excited and his tail started wagging.

~~**Cap! Did you remember?** ~~ Peter barked.

Mr. Stark glanced down at Peter and started scratching behind his ear then looked up at Steve as he glanced over the suit.

"Guess you're the star spangled man with a plan, now?" Mr. Stark said as he raised an eyebrow. His tone was neutral, borderline hostile.

Steve glanced down at the suit, "Oh this? I'm staring in the Captain America play," he leaned down and started gathering the fliers, Peter was disappointed and his tail dropped. He kinda forgot Steve helped run the movie theater and the playhouse, guess that means he also acts.

"Oh, good for you," Mr. Stark nodded indifferently.

As Steve stood up, he gave Peter a pat on the head. "Yeah, the director said I looked like the guy, I don't see the resemblance," Steve shrugged. He held a flier out to Mr. Stark, "The first show's next week if you want to come," he gave a friendly half smile.

**~~The Influence strikes again! I swear this is so infuriating!~~ **  Peter let out a few frustrated huffs and a bark.

Mr. Stark glanced down at Peter, "I side with him, I think we'll pass." With that he stepped around Steve and continued down Main Street.

~~**Come on man, don't use me in your excuses.** ~~ Peter huffed. He looked back at Steve and saw Bucky turn the corner, they started talking with each other and a few glances were thrown Mr. Stark's way. Peter was glad they had left when they did, otherwise he might have had to keep Mr. Stark from throwing punches.

Peter went to catch up to Mr. Stark after falling behind to look at the two, but before he could make it to the man he ran into someone's legs, almost knocking them over.

"What's the hurry, K9?" The man asked in an amused tone as he stabled himself. Peter looked up to see Director Fury, or now known as Sheriff Fury. The director still wore his signature eye patch and black trench coat, so not much changed about his appearance since the Influence, but he looked a hell of a lot less stressed and even smiled sometimes.

It was weird.

Peter didn't recommend watching Director Fury smile.

~~**Sorry sir, just trying to catch up with Mr. Stark.** ~~ Peter let out a gruff as he looked past Fury's legs at Mr. Stark who was unlocking the door to his store.

Fury glanced behind him and saw Stark, he seemed to understand immediately. "Right, I won't keep you from your pops," he ruffled Peter's hair before straightening himself up and continuing on his walk. 

Peter only watched for a moment before continuing on a brisk walk rather than a sprint; he didn’t want to run into someone again. Just as he was about to push his way through Mr. Stark's store door, a voice called from across the street.

"Hey, Peter!"

Peter turned his head to see Rhodey standing in the doorway of his deli.

~~**Oh, right! I almost forgot!** ~~ Peter barked before padding across the brick road then sat down in front of Rhodey expectantly.

The older man held out a brown paper bag with Mr. Stark's name written on it. Peter reached out and gently grabbed the top of the bag in his mouth before turning and heading back across the street.

He pushed his head against the door and it made a faint ding as it opened enough for Peter to push all the way thought.

Mr. Stark was the owner of a tech and hardware shop. One side of the store had basic tools and what not, while the other held computer parts of different varieties. He also offers a repair service under the claim that he can fix any tech problem one might have, so far he's been true to his word, even in Peter's false memories.

Peter immediately made his way to the back counter of the store and ducked his head under the high hanging door that led into a small workshop in the back. Mr. Stark was already leaned over the desk working on one of the orders, Peter couldn't tell what it was from his angle on the floor.

**Rhodey got you lunch for later.** Peter gave a muffled bark as he walked over to Mr. Stark. He stood on his hind legs to deposit the paper bag onto the table top.

Mr. Stark's attention was finally pulled away, from what Peter could now see was a computer, to look at the paper bag.

"Wonder what I get for lunch today?" Mr. Stark asked glancing at Peter as he looking into the bag. 

After seeing the contents of the bag, Stark stood up so quick that he knocked the chair over causing Peter to jump aside. The man made a mad dash though the store and yanked open the store's front door. Luckily Rhodey was still outside his shop, he was chatting with Natasha. The truck she had been driving this morning was parked in front of the neighboring gun shop.

"Rhodey, I could kiss you!" Mr. Stark shouted, Peter found himself sticking his head between Stark's legs to see the commotion.

"I'd rather you didn't," Rhodey said with a dry laugh.

"I'd buy tickets!" Clint shouted from behind the truck. He was grabbing a box of something from the truck's bed, presumably taking it inside the gun shop.

"I'm down," Natasha shrugged.

"Prices are doubled for you Clint, Natasha you can see it for free" Mr. Stark said with a grin.

"That's literally just me paying for her ticket." Clint complained.

"Sounds fair to me" Natasha pushed off the door frame she was leaning against while chatting with Rhodey and walked over to the gun shop to help Clint.

"Well, hate to let you down, but that ain't happening," Rhodey turned to go back into his store.

~~**Bye Rhodey!** ~~ Peter barked.

"Don't be such a buzzkill" Mr. Stark joked.

"Enjoy your fancy cheese sandwich, Tony," and with that, Rhodey closed his shop door.

Still smiling, Tony retreated back into his store with Peter on his heel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanting to introduce a few more Avengers before writing any suggestions. It will probably be next chapter when I get to that. Wanted you guys to get a better feel for the environment, plus its also fun to write all this niceness, especially when the other story I'm working on it practically pure angst.


	3. Hot On Their Tail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another slow morning at the shop, Peter's kinda bad at being a completely normal dog, and the day is kinda getting boring... how about we spice things up a little?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um.. ye be warned? Peter says the F word... pardon other French mentioned as well.  
> *Parents gasp everywhere*  
> Yes, I know, I know, the humanity, yada yada yada.

The morning was slow and Peter was sitting on a tall stool just behind the cash register. It was kind of his unofficial job to watch over the store while Mr. Stark worked in the back. There was a small TV in the back corner behind the counter, that Peter turned on; he could watch it easily from his stool but also keep an eye on the store. He was pretty sure whatever breed of dog he was had very strong protective instincts. It's what usually kept him from wandering around the town too much and kept him close to Mr. Stark, it wasn't that he couldn't go against the instincts, it just felt better not to.

_ The Empire Strikes Back _ was playing on the TV when Mr. Stark walked in from the back. He made an odd face as he turned to look at the screen. "Did someone turn that on for you, buddy?" He asked, walking over to pick up the remote that lay next to the cash register. He glanced at the front door "I don't remember the doorbell ringing"

~~**Don't mind me, I'm just playing dumb so you don't suspect anything.** ~~ Peter just opened his mouth to stick his tongue out and wagged his tail with a tilt of his head.

Mr. Stark just shrugged it off before setting the remote down and reached out to pet Peter. "Slow morning like usual, but at least we got a bunch of orders to keep me busy"

~~**Or you could invent something impossible? Those orders are hardly a challenge for you.** ~~ Peter gruffed, leaning forward to grab a screwdriver sitting on the counter and handed it to Mr. Stark.

"You're either telling me to screw off and get back to work, or let's go build something fun," he said with an amused grin, taking the tool from Peter's mouth. "As much as I'd love to do the latter, I’ve got to get these orders done before tomorrow," he scratched Peter on the base of his head.

As much as Peter tried to resist against them, his stupid canine urges had him thumping his hind leg against the seat as he leaned into the touch.

~~**This is unbelievably embarrassing! Come on, pull yourself together Peter!** ~~  Peter let out a sigh.  ~~**But it's the only place I can’t reach myself, it’s been itching for days.** ~~

"Yeah? You like that don't you, boy?" Mr. Stark said in the dog voice. It was even weirder coming from him.

~~**I really wish I didn't, and please don't talk like that, it's way too weird.** ~~  Peter let out a small growl, but Mr. Stark only smiled knowing Peter didn't really mean it. He pulled away giving Peter a pat on the head.

"You always growl when I use that voice, I don't hear you growling at anyone else. You know that's kinda hurtful, Peter," he put his hand to his chest -pretending to be offended.

~~**Mr. Stark you know I don't mean it.** ~~ Peter let out a small whine and leaned forward to nudge the man's arm.

Mr. Stark just rolled his eyes in response, "Fine you got me, I can't stay mad at you," he grinned and gave Peter one last pat on the head before returning to the back. He glanced back at Peter one last time before disappearing behind the door, there was a curious look in his eye that Peter couldn't quite identify.

Peter went wide eyed for a moment as he turned to look back at the front of the store. Mr. Stark might be getting suspicious, it was easy to forget that the man was a literal genius -maybe even one of the smartest men in the world. 

Peter wasn't really watching the TV anymore despite looking at it, he found himself lost in thought again.  

Was it really a bad thing that Mr. Stark knew his dog was at least smarter than most? Well let's be honest, a dog with a human mind was probably the smartest dog in the world, unless, of course, there were other people who had been turned into dogs. Which would be bad, this life wasn't exactly for everyone. The only reason Peter was adjusting so well was because Mr. Stark was an awesome... owner? No, that really didn't sound right. He didn't feel like he was owned, if anything he actually felt like he could leave at any moment if he wanted to, not that he would want to. Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts always treated him so well.

Mr. Stark was more like... a dad? That was the only word he could find that fits this relationship.

Now that he thinks of it, everyone does refer to Mr. Stark as his dad and he has even called Peter his son a few times. 

Before Peter could make sense of this new revelation, his nose snapped him out of thought.

What was that? Marijuana? Cocaine? Both. 

Smells like trouble if you asked Peter.

He quickly turned his head easily scanning the small store to find a man wearing a rugged hoodie and jeans. He wore a baseball cap with the hood pulled over it. This guy couldn't look more sketchy.

Nope, Peter was wrong.

As the guy walked lazily through the hardware ales turning at the end to go down another, Peter could see the guy also wore dark glasses and a bandanna around his neck. He looked about mid twenties but that could have just been the effects of drugs making him look older.

Peter was on alert now, his dog instinct kicked in and he suddenly felt very protective of everything in the store, especially Mr. Stark. 

He climbed up onto the counter and sat there with eyes trained on the guy and his ears on alert. He was sitting so that his weight was on his paws instead of his haunches, allowing him the ability to easily bolt into action if the situation called for it.

They guy was obviously not interested in the hardware, his eyes kept suspiciously darting towards the tech side of the store.

By the time the guy started looking at the graphics cards, Peter was unable to stop the low growl that escaped his throat. It was noticeable enough for the guy to look over at him. Apparently it attracted the attention of Mr. Stark as well, as Peter caught sight of movement from Mr. Stark's chair in the back room, but that was hardly a concern right now.

"Hey Peter, what's going-"

Peter didn't hear Mr. Stark finish his sentence, the moment he was visible in the doorway, the guy grabbed two boxes that held graphics cards and bolted towards the door.

Peter was after him in an instant. Unfortunately, the guy was closer to the front door and made it out before Peter; luckily, Mr. Stark left a rope that hung from the handle so Peter could pull it open himself, otherwise he would have resorted to smashing through the glass.

Peter grabbed the rope yanking the door open and ran out after the thief. 

~~**Get back here, you fucker! No one- and I mean NO ONE- steals from Mr. Stark!!!** ~~ Peter barked viciously, his tone filled with venom. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Clint drop a long black bag and go chasing after them.

Peter wasn't a huge dog but he wasn't exactly small either, so when the thief glanced back and saw Peter with his teeth bared. He let out a curse and pushed himself to run faster.

Peter was gaining on him though, because it wasn’t like the guy had a chance with a spider dog running after him. 

What Peter didn't expect, was when the thief turned a corner and there came an audible thunk followed by panicked whinnies.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm yourself Mjolnir," a booming voice beckoned.

Peter turned the corner and found the thief on the ground in front of a large horse where Thor was holding the reins on top.

Taking the opportunity, Peter snatched the thief's hoodie in his jaws, refusing to let go as the man struggled.

"Fuck off!" The thief snapped.

Driven almost purely by canine impulse, Peter was powerless to stop his reply. Not that he wanted to.

~~**You think some low life son of a bitch like you could run from me?!** ~~  Peter growled angrily as he kept yanking the thief's hoodie, keeping him off balance so it lessened the likelihood of him escaping.  ~~**I'M PETER FUCKING PARKER, THE DOG FROM HELL, READY TO RIP YOUR FUCKING HEART OU** ~~ \- 

"Peter!" Mr. Stark said. He sounded very worried.

With the thief's hoodie still in his mouth Peter turned his head to look at Mr. Stark and wagged his tail.  ~~**Oh hey, Mr. Stark how's it going? Look who I just caught!** ~~ Peter let out a muffled bark that sounded happy.

Finally looking around it seemed he drew a crowd. He spotted Clint, Natasha, Sheriff Fury, who was next to Officer Coulson, then there was Rhodey, and of course Mr. Stark... who seemed to be the only one willing to stand close to Peter. 

Peter looked back at the thief, he was absolutely terrified and his hoodie was shredded but there was no blood, Peter had no intention of hurting him, he only wanted to make sure he didn't get away. He realized he may have gone to far.

Mr. Stark put a hand on Peter's back, "Come on, buddy, you can let him go now, you caught the bad guy, good job," he said gently.

Peter let go of the hoodie and back towards Mr. Stark with his ears folded back and his head lowered. He really hoped the others weren't mad at him, but the grin on Clint's face and Natasha's slight smirk caused his tail to wag.

He stayed next to Mr. Stark, who was now crouched next to him with his hand still on Peter's back, and watched as Officer Coulson pulled out a pair of handcuffs walking to the thief. 

"Good dog," Coulson said as he pat Peter's head before cuffing the thief.

"That dog is crazy!" The thief spat. Coulson pushed him forward slightly as he lead him to the nearby patrol car.

"You're more so, if you were trying to steal from Stark," Coulson replied in a cold tone.

Peter didn't hear the thief's reply as the officer had shoved the criminal into the patrol car and the door was slammed shut.

"Quite the dog you've got there, Stark," Thor said as he dismounted from his horse.

"Yeah, the best," Mr. Stark grinned at Peter as he affectionately scratched Peter's ear.

"I think I might want a canine like that, would you know where I could get one?" Thor asked 

"Nope, I'm pretty sure he's one of a kind," Mr. Stark glanced back at Peter with the same curious look from before.

~~**Shit, he knows.** ~~ Peter let out a small gruff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I made Thor's hammer a horse but one of those REALLY big horses. A Shire horse to be exact.  
> Your welcome.
> 
> ChaoWrites suggested the thief encounter.  
> And I think I answered one of Kid's questions. They asked if Peter had a soft spot. I assume you meant the spot that make a dogs leg thump (My family always called it a sweet spot)


	4. A Ruff Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An end to a long day. Peter has a few tricks up his sleeve but it doesn't go to plane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good news for everyone! I got a beta reader! They're supper awesome and helped fix all of the previous chapters' errors.
> 
> The awesome beta:  
> [Lostintheclouds321](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostintheclouds321)

Peter would have to admit that today had been kind of exhausting. After the incident, Peter had completely commit to the role of a dog. He couldn’t risk Mr. Stark being suspicious. What if he found out about Peter and that somehow alerted the Influence? If Peter’s original theory was wrong then he didn’t want to risk losing his memory, he might be the only one that could reverse whatever happened to him and the rest of the Avengers and to top it off he discovered a new issues with being a dog, one he hadn’t even realized was a problem before now.

After chasing the thief down while filled with an anger that would rival the Hulk's, Peter realized that his canine instincts had more power over him then he'd like to admit. He really needed to look up what type dog he was, maybe the internet would be able to give him an idea of what kind of new traits these dog instincts were sparking in him.

So, despite being tired from having to pretend to be extra dog-like —in hopes that Mr. Stark would become less suspicious- Peter planned on staying up long after Mr. Stark went to bed so he could use the man's laptop.

Luckily, Pepper was coming home that night and it would be safer to work on the laptop since Mr. Stark usually had an easier time sleeping with her around.

Peter first got the clue that Pepper would be coming home after Mr. Stark got a text from what Peter would assume was his girlfriend. Peter’s suspicions were only confirmed by the way the older man started dinner, it was obvious that the food was meant for more than one person.

Also, his sudden cheery mood was a sure tell.

Peter was curled up on the couch taking a light nap when the front door opened. He was up in an instant, running over to greet Pepper.

"Oh Peter, it's so good to see you," she knelt down to be eye level with him as she pet him. "I heard you an Tony had an adventure today?"

~~**Heh, yeah, I kinda got carried away. I kinda have a sense of what Dr. Banner feels like now when dealing with the Hulk… I have a new appreciation for the man.**~~ Peter let out a small sigh as he leaned into her touch, her hands were always so soft and her voice so comforting, plus she was always one to speak her mind. Peter understood why Mr. Stark liked her so much.

"Pepper, you should have seen him. It was impressive." Mr. Stark was walking out of the kitchen with a towel for drying his hands. He tossed it on the counter before walking through the living room to give Pepper a quick kiss and a hug.

"I’d bet, I didn't even know dogs could do that without training," still in Mr. Stark's arms, Pepper glanced down and pat Peter's head.

"I was actually looking it up and it seems that Shibas are very protective of their stuff, must be why he was freaking out so much. He was really whaling on that guy when I showed up," Mr. Stark pulled away from Pepper. He grabbed the bag she carried in and they both slowly walked across the living room. Peter took the opportunity to return to his spot on the couch.

~~**Oh, so that's what I am, that's going to save a lot of time when I use your computer later, Mr. Stark.**~~ Peter gave a quiet gruff to himself as he curled up on the couch.

"The guy's fine, right?" Pepper said almost sounding worried.

"Yeah, of course. He didn't even get a scratch, at least not from Peter. He did run into Thor's horse so he may have some bruising from that." Mr. Stark shrugged, he didn't seem as bothered by the fact that Peter could have seriously hurt the guy. Peter suspected it was because he was just as angry with his stuff being stolen as Peter was.

"You said he was trying to steal graphics cards? He must have been desperate to play his video games," Pepper reached for her bag, trying to take it back from him.

"Probably wanted them for bitcoin mining, but who knows. The guy was obviously on something so his motives could have been anything," Mr. Stark shrugged, using the opportunity of having both of their hands on the bag to pull her into a kiss. Pepper let out a small giggle.

"I should unpack," she grinned and pulled away.

"That you should," Mr. Stark didn't pull his eyes away from her.

~~**Mr. Stark hate to intrude but I'm getting hungry!**~~ Peter let out a small bark causing both Pepper and Mr. Stark look his way. The two were always so lovey dovey around each other. Sometimes it was cute in that weird happily-ever-after kinda way, but other times it was a little annoying, especially when it get in the way of meal times.

"You should get back to making dinner, I think someone is getting hungry," she glanced over at Peter before playfully pushing Mr. Stark towards the kitchen then perfectly executed a graceful turn to head down the hall that led to the master bedroom.

Mr. Stark just pointed at Peter. "You are no longer allowed to be my wingman," he said in a plain tone.

Peter just stuck his tongue out and wagged his tail, pretending to play dumb, it was his go-to move and he could see that it often frustrated Mr. Stark. On cue, the man just rolled his eyes before turning to walk back towards the kitchen to finish dinner.

It wasn't so long after that that Pepper joined Peter on the couch dressed in her pajamas, her hand gently resting on his head. Peter snuggled up beside her and she lazily scratched behind his ear as she read a book on her tablet.

She always had really fluffy pajama pants in the cooler seasons, at least, that’s what his false memories told him. He didn’t know much about her from living at the compound with the other Avengers. He only ever saw her business side when she visited.

It was a strange concept to feel like he’s known Pepper for years but at the same time have her be a relative stranger to him; however, over the past week of his being a dog, it had been easy to fall into the role of familiarity, especially since she was always so nice and caring.

"Soups up," Mr. Stark called from the kitchen, inadvertently breaking Peter from his pleasant thoughts.

Peter was quick to jump off the couch and make it into the kitchen. He sat by his dog bowl and looked up at Mr. Stark expectantly. Being fed only twice a day made him especially look forward to each meal.

Mr. Stark had the dog food can in hand seeming reluctant to open it. "What? You think you deserve this after the stunt you pulled back there," Mr. Stark held a smug grin.

Peter just narrowed his eyes, he was desperate for that roasted chicken and gravy flavored dog food. **Then you leave me no choice, Mr Stark.** Peter looked up at Mr. Stark with the biggest, saddest, puppy dog eyes he could muster. To top it all off he let out a small whimper.

"Shit, you know I'm defenseless against that," he put a hand to his chest and he pretended to stumble back. "Fine! Just stop the eyes and you can have your food," Mr. Stark said as he opened the can and poured it into Peter's bowl.

Peter yipped and wagged his tail before he started to eat. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Pepper and Mr. Stark sat at the dining table to eat together.

Peter didn’t pay much attention to the two after that, this particular canned dog food was ranked third on his favorite food list. Mr. Stark probably knew that and it wouldn’t have surprised Peter to find out that Mr. Stark had given him the flavor as a reward for capturing the thief earlier that day.

As the evening went on, Peter found himself lying under the dinner table, waiting for Pepper and Mr. Stark to finish their meal.

The couple talked, joked, and seemed to be greatly enjoying each other’s company. It wasn’t till after they finished dinner and cleaned up that they kicked their flirting into high gear.

That was one of the downsides of being a dog, social boundaries did not include him. So when the couple started paying less attention to the movie they were watching and more attention to each other, Peter ran out the doggy door before things could escalate to awkward proportions. He had to get away.

After just a short while, Peter found himself taking refuge on the roof of a house a block away.

* * *

 

It wasn’t till the moon was high in the sky that Peter returned to the back yard. He landed quietly in the grass at the edge of the yard before padding over to the doggy door.

He had to find Mr. Stark’s laptop, if he remembered correctly the man had left it on the coffee table in the living room.

But of course when Peter went to get it, the laptop was gone.

Peter sighed quietly to himself, if it wasn’t there that meant Mr. Stark took the laptop to his room before going to bed. That made things a little more complicated but nothing the amazing Spider-Dog couldn’t handle.

The master bedroom door at the end of the hall was closed, but by some sheer stroke of luck all the door handles in the house were levers instead of door knobs. He constantly praised whoever designed the house for that feature. Door knobs were a nightmare to open without hands.

Peter only had to balance on his hind legs with one paw on the door frame for balance and the other he used to gently open the door with as little noise as possible.

He opened it just enough to fit through the gap, and he made sure to stay low to the floor as he kept his eyes on on the couple sleeping in bed.

In that moment, Peter was thankful he was a dog. When he was a human, he hadn’t realized how well dogs could actually see in low level light, so spotting the laptop bag wasn’t difficult.

It was lying between the nightstand and the bed frame on Mr. Stark’s side.

He reached for the corner of the leather bag and slowly started pulling it out with his teeth. Mr. Stark shifted in his bed and Peter froze waiting a few moments before he continued.

Just as the bag was almost completely free from the confinements of its hiding spot when one of the straps caught on the cord connected to the alarm clock sitting on the nightstand.

Peter’s spidey sense spiked as he noticed the predicament just in time.

In one smooth motion Peter was able to let go of the bag propping it against one leg and catching the alarm clock in his mouth.

There was very little noise in the commotion but Peter found himself frozen as he watched Mr. Stark for a solid minute looking for any sign of motion.

Peter let out a quiet breath relieved that the man didn’t wake up. He slowly leaned forward placing the clock back on the nightstand before he reached down grabbing the handle of the bag in his mouth.

Peter’s nose suddenly started twitching.

Oh no…

Now was not the time for a sneeze.

He tried to make it to the door quickly, but halfway there he lost his self control and the urge to sneeze was overwhelming. With the bag still in his mouth nothing could’ve been done to muffle the noise.

Peter quickly turned his head to look back at Mr. Stark. He started turning in his bed and Peter saw him reach for the lamp.

Having no other option, Peter leaped into the air turning just in time to have his paws stick to the ceiling. The bag hung at an awkward angle in his mouth but he kept a firm grip on it.

The lamp went on, but it was dim enough to keep Peter in the shadows. Luckily, Mr. Stark was too groggy to notice anything out of the ordinary as he headed straight for the connected bathroom.

Once the bathroom door closed, Peter crawled across the ceiling to the bedroom door, he gently closed it with his hind paw. Once he was out, he gracefully jumped down from the ceiling.

He padded into the living room and set the bag on the floor next to the coffee table. It took some effort, but he was able to get the zipper undone and the laptop out with his mouth. Gently, he set it on the coffee table.

Opening it was easy as he held a paw on the bottom half then pushed up the top with his nose, but from there things only got more difficult.

Turning it on the computer required a password, it wasn’t that he didn’t know it, he had seen Mr. Stark type it in enough times, it was just difficult to type with his snout.

~~**Right, well, the password won’t type itself.** ~~ Peter huffed to himself.

PepperPot3942

The password was kind of predictable since a lot of people used things connected to their loved ones but it had taken a while for Peter to figure out what the number was, it turned out to be the sum of Pepper and Mr. Stark’s birth years.

After a few minutes of carefully typing the password in, and having to hit the backspace for accidentally putting an O instead of a P, Peter was finally on the desktop. Using his dried nose to work the mouse, he opened the browser to Google as it was the default page.

It took awhile to think of the proper spelling and then to actually type the words he was aiming for, but eventually he had searched for ‘shiba traits.’

Using one of the nails on his paw Peter was able to scroll down finding a link called _Shiba Inu Personality -Good, Bad, & Quirky. _

The site went on to say that Shibas were usually very clean dogs and were very graceful and agile. In fact, Peter was very surprised to see that section directly reference Spider-Man. It seemed that his breed was already good at scaling walls and jumping to high places without the added abilities of spider powers.

He felt a little smug when the article mentioned them being doggy ‘Einsteins,’ but then he read the next one saying they were strong willed and stubborn, however, he couldn’t find himself able to disagree with that. Another trait that caught his eye was the mention of the breed being ‘drama queens,’ Peter laughed at that, because there way no way that he was a drama queen… right?

Peter eventually found what he was looking for, Shibas were known to be a primitive breed and lost control more easily than other domesticated dogs.

Well that actually made a lot of sense for Peter, the incident earlier that day (or was it yesterday? A quick glance at the clock showed it was 1:30) proved that Peter wasn’t entirely in control of his actions, there were primitive instincts he had to follow.

The thought kind of worried him, he hoped that he didn’t get so worked up that he accidentally hurt someone.

He was about to think of another comparisons himself to the Hulk and Dr. Banner, but his thoughts were interrupted when the overhead light came on. Peter quickly looked over in the direction of the light switch and was met with the confused eyes of Mr. Stark.

“Peter?” He said in disbelief as he looked over the unusual and unique scene of his dog using his laptop.

Peter looked at the laptop then back at Mr. Stark. ~~**Um... this isn’t what it looks like?** ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought I was joking when it compared a shiba to Spider-Man then have a look for yourself. Here's the link to the sight I was pulling the info from. Honestly I though the breed was a good fit before but now I can't believe how perfect it actually was!
> 
> [Shiba Inu Personality- Good, Bad, Quirky ](https://shibashake.com/dog/shiba-inu-personality-good-bad-traits)
> 
> Also Arrow_ShadowWolf suggested Peter get caught while using the computer.
> 
> As always I love to see your comments and please leave suggestions for scenes you want to see, the story is vary flexible so most of your suggestions will probably be added.


	5. A Ruff Night: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter panics then find himself in an unfamiliar place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of Arrow_ShadowWolf's suggestion of Peter getting caught using Tony's laptop.

Both Peter and Mr. Stark were left speechless as they stared at each other. The only noise in the room was the gentle hum of the computer.

Peter was the first to move, he slowly slid his paw off the laptop and took a cautious step back. Mr. Stark responded to the movement by taking a step forward, but stopped short when he saw his dog tense up.

Peter wasn't entirely sure what to do, he had just been caught using a laptop to look up what bread he was. Not to mention that Mr. Stark knows his laptop came from his bedroom and had been sealed in a bag; any man, not just one of Mr. Stark's intelligence, could piece together the scene in front of him and come to the conclusion that Peter was more self aware and intelligent then any normal dog should be capable of.

Peter mentally cursed at himself for being careless, the situation could easily have been avoided. If Peter hadn't been so absorbed in the article he was reading, he would have heard the bedroom door open and could have made the scene look less incriminating. Peter took another step back; his ears were now flat against his head and his body crouched. He glanced towards the kitchen to judge whether or not he could make it to the doggy door before Mr. Stark could intercept him.

Peter needed to get out of here. He needed time to think how to deal with this new development.

He was too panicked to properly think; the only words running through his head were, ‘ _I hope the Influence doesn't find out.’_

Mr. Stark threw a glance towards the kitchen, probably already guessing as to what Peter was thinking. He put his hands out as if to show Peter he meant no harm, "Peter, hey, you're not in trouble," the older man tried to keep his voice low and calm but it was obvious he was still trying to process everything, "Let's just... um, talk about this?" He took another step towards Peter.

 ~~**Yeah, I wish that were possible.** ~~ Peter let out a small huff before glancing at the kitchen again. Peter was confident he could outmaneuver the older man and successfully escape through the doggy door without even using his spider powers. He looked to Mr. Stark one last time.

Within the next second Peter bolted for the kitchen, Mr. Stark tried to catch him but to no avail. Peter was able to simply barrel through the doggy door while Mr. Stark had to fiddle with the door handle to get it unlocked before he could even attempt to follow Peter.

Peter headed straight towards the back fence, with the new knowledge of what his breed could naturally do maybe it wouldn’t seem so strange that he could climb the fence. But he still thought it better to play it safe and pretend to struggle. He'd already blown his cover at being a normal dog and he definitely wasn't going to add to that by exposing his spider powers.

He jumped just high enough for front paws to catch the top of the fence so he could heave himself over; unfortunately, it was the classic style of wooden fence that had points on top. The edges were not kind to his chest and he felt a sharp pain along his ribs after he landed on the opposite side of the fence in the alleyway. He'd have to worry about the pain later. Right now, Peter's attention was being drawn to the fences’ gate.

The lever that opened the gate creaked and the door swung open, but Peter ran down the alley before he could see Mr. Stark's face. He ignored the calls of his name and he turned into the street. He was sure Mr. Stark wouldn't follow. The man wasn’t even wearing shoes when he started chasing Peter out of the house, but just to make sure, he sprinted at his top speed away from his home the moment he was out of sight. He hardly payed attention to which way he was going.

By the time he stopped he'd lost count of the number of blocks he’d ran as he zigged and zagged his way through the streets. Soon enough, Peter found himself panting more from panic than exhaustion. While looking around and trying to gain some bearing of his surroundings he came to the frightening realization that he had no idea where he was. He'd never been to this part of town and it didn't look too safe with it's neglected houses and the old trailer homes lining the streets.

He should have stayed with Mr. Stark, then again he hadn’t expected his legs to carry him this far away from home.

He needed to get back, but how was the hanging question.

Peter looked both ways down the street before he decided to start walking back the way he came. He kept his ears up, his eyes open, and his senses alert as he attempted to navigate his way through the streets in hopes of getting home, but as the sky slowly started to get lighter Peter was no closer to finding a familiar street as compared to when he started.

Peter shortly found himself on the outskirts of town. He was cold, tired, and now more focused on finding a place to sleep then trying to get home. Peter was running on autopilot as his feet dragged him into a long abandoned construction site. As he was too tired to fight off his subtle instinct to sniff around he instead followed it, getting some dirt up his nose would be the least of his problems and he was glad to find out that no other dogs were in the area. He detected a scent he didn't quite recognize but it was probably nothing. After examining his surroundings, it wouldn’t take him long to find a suitable place to sleep. He wasn’t picky, at that point he was just looking for anything not out in the open.

There was a large pipe that hung from a rusted crane, it was large enough to comfortably fit a person but high enough off the ground to keep someone, or something, from easily getting into it without a ladder. Of course, for Peter it would be easy to jump up into the pipe with his spider powers. When he got up there his exhaustion started really getting to him. He thought he’d found a large box of Twinkies tucked in the pipe just out of sight, but it was probably just some hallucination from his lack of sleep. Peter simply stepped around them and then curled up in the middle of the pipe.

It all smelt of dirt, rust, and Twinkies, but that could hardly stop him from conking out the moment his eyes were closed.

* * *

 

After hours of dreamless sleep, Peter found himself awaking to the distant conversation of two people. He was too groggy to understand their words but he could definitely distinguish between the two voices. One was of a higher pitch but soft and gentle compared to the other which was loud and booming -he could easily compare it to Thor's voice, but there was something more rugged about it.

Not wanting to lose the thin blanket of sleep that still laid over him by opening his eyes or shifting his position, Peter didn't react to the noise.

It wasn't until the voices got louder and the words clearer did Peter finally shift and let his ears perk up so he could listen.

"Don't be so silly. Of course they are safe, we have the perfect hiding spot," the woman said. Her accent felt shockingly familiar as she exaggerated some of her syllables in a unique manner.

"I hate the fact that Quill forces us to share our flavorful snacks," the man said in a grumpy tone. Peter's mind hung on the mention of snacks, but at that moment he couldn’t understand why. He was probably just hungry.

There was a shuffle of movement and the next words spoken from the woman were a lot louder and more shrill than Peter would have liked, "That is why we hide them!"

Something changed and now light was shining directly in Peter's eyes; upon noticing him, the woman gasped.

"Oh, my! There's a puppy!"

"Impossible! No such creature has the ability climb into this pipe," the man said stubbornly.

"Hold the box, I'll get it"

Peter felt something grab his tail and he was jolted fully awake and he tried to back away.

"It's okay, puppy, we will help you out," she tried to reach for him again, this time nearly grabbing his collar.

Peter jerked back, but his hind legs slipped off the back edge of the pipe and the rest of his body followed. While he was originally falling backwards, he was quickly able to twist his body around in time to land on his feet.

"This creature looks like a dog, but has reflexes like a cat. I've never seen such a hybrid," the man said in wonder, he was holding the woman steady as she stood on his shoulders with one hand, and held a box of Twinkies in the other.  

"I think we should keep it! It's so pretty," the woman said as she jumped down from the man's shoulders.

Looking at them, Peter eyes went wide. As he was now seeing them clearly in the light he knew exactly who they were. Drax and Mantis, two of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Peter will admit, they do look a bit different from the last time he saw them but he suspected the Influence had something to do with it.

Instead of Drax's dark green skin with red marks he had tan skin covered in red tattoos that were identical to the red markings he naturally had; however, despite being human, he still seemed to dislike wearing shirts.

Mantis' eyes weren't as large as they used to be, though they still looked slightly abnormal in size and she didn't have her antennas.

 ~~**What the.. you guys are here too?** ~~ Peter gasped in surprise.

This was definitely a shock to Peter, he had assumed the Guardians had been off planet when the Influence took hold of the Avengers, it was a rarity that they even visited Earth. Whatever happened must have been big enough to get the Guardians’ attention. He was almost glad he had ran off, their presence here was a major clue in figuring out what happened. Peter's natural curiosity took hold and he wanted to know how their lives were now playing out.

"I think it looks too small, and is kind of mangy," Drax said with a small scowl.

"Well I think it is pretty," Mantis insisted, reached over and grabbing a Twinkie from the box Drax was still holding. "Come here puppy, do you want a Twinkie?"

"Do not feed that hybrid our sacred snack!" Drax almost sounded offended as he clutched the box protectively against his chest.

"But the puppy looks hungry," She looked back at Drax with sad eyes.

"Fine, but only the one" He grumbled as he looked away from her, his eyes scanned across the construction site as if he suspected someone else might try to steal his snacks.

Mantis just looked back at Peter with a grin as she knelt down and opened the package of Twinkies. She held it out to him, clearing trying to entice him to get closer to her.

If she had been any other person, Peter would have refused the treat, but knowing the two from the few times the Guardians and the Avengers had interacted, he felt the comfort of familiarity that he had been craving in this strange environment. Peter took a step forward but the moment he stretched his front leg out he winced as a sharp pain shot through one side of his chest, he almost stumbled to catch his balance. Mantis gasped and she moved closer to Peter.

"Oh no, the puppy is hurt," she gently pet Peter's head.

"How bad is it?" Drax asked, taking a step forward.

Peter lifted up his front leg slowly to look down at his chest, there was a large gash across his ribs and the surrounding fur was matted with dried blood. It was a surprise that Peter hadn’t even noticed the wound until now. He must have been so worked up last night that he hadn’t paid his body any attention.

"It looks pretty bad," Mantis pleaded and looked back at Drax with big eyes.

"Let's take him home, surely Gamora will know what to do, but first, help me safely store the Twinkies."

Mantis set the opened Twinkie in front of Peter before running over to help Drax. Peter enjoyed the snack as he watched the two put the box back into the pipe.

When Mantis jumped off of Drax's shoulders for the second time, the two approached Peter.

"Let's go, hybrid, our home is just a block away," Drax said as he leaned over to pat Peter's head.

"Drax!” Mantis protested just as Drax walked passed Peter.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"You can't let the puppy walk when it is hurt," she insisted before crossing her arms.

"Then carry it," he harshly suggested.

"The puppy is too big for me, you have to carry it," she said as she poked Drax in the shoulder.

 ** ~~Guys it's fine really, I don't need~~ \- ~~oof.~~** Peter's unheard words were interrupted when a grumbling Drax picked him up, now cradling Peter in his arms. ~~**Ok, this is happening then...** ~~ Peter huffed. ~~**Please don't drop me.** ~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mantis and Drax are to fun to write! I wasn't sure if they would fit into this world but I was so glad I figured it out but that kinda meant they're human now.
> 
> Like always I'd love to hear your comments and suggested scenes or ideas, I'll fit them in where I can and give you a shout out.
> 
> Awesome Beta:  
> [Lostintheclouds321](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostintheclouds321)


	6. Pawsitive Development?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glade tons of you guys are enjoying this! It was just a goofy idea I came up with and felt like I should share it lol. I may not respond to all of your comments but I defiantly read and appreciate every one of them! You all are awesome!

The walk to what Peter assumed to be the Guardians’ house didn't take too long, in fact it was just around the block. Peter didn't know what he had been expecting but it definitely wasn't what he saw.

The large lot that Mantis and Drax stopped in front of was surrounded by a short chain link fence. The front gate was laying on its side with only one hinge that was barely attached to the fence. An old tiled path led from the fence to what looked like two trailer houses which were crudely -but effectively- stuck together in a T shape; the bottom of the T seemed to be the entrance to the building. The yard within the fence, and the area surrounding it, was completely barren of grass and the few weeds that had been brave enough to grow on the land were hardly thriving; so it was a big surprise for Peter to see a large lush tree with healthy looking leaves growing in the front right corner of the fenced in area.  
  
~~**Please don't tell me that's Groot.** ~~ Peter looked wide eyed at the tree as they walked along the fence towards the gate.  
  
Mantis ran ahead of Drax and stood by the gate as she excitedly showed off the dilapidated house, "Welcome to our home, puppy! This is where-"  
  
Mantis was suddenly cut off by someone angrily yelling, "Peter!" This caused both Peter and Mantis to jump looking in the direction of the voice, Drax, however, remained unbothered by the outburst.  
  
_How did they know it's me??_ Peter thought to himself, nervous at the prospects of what awaited him inside.

  
A woman pushed none other than _the_ Star Lord out of one of the side doors of the trailer home, Peter assumed it was Gamora due to their striking resemblances and having the same voice; the only difference made by the Influence was that her once green skin was now a smooth chestnut tone. He noted that her hair remained the same color.  
  
"How many times must I tell you to do the dishes?" She snapped, directing her anger at Peter Quill the human instead of Peter Parker the dog.  
  
Peter relaxed almost immediately, he almost completely forgot that Star Lord's first name was also Peter.  
  
"I already did the dishes!" Quill shot back as he managed to stay on his feet after the harsh shove from Gamora.  
  
"All you did was wash a teacup and a plate," she huffed, crossing her arms, "There's still an entire sink full of dirty dishes"  
  
"Those are clearly Drax's dishes, he was supposed to wash them yesterday after we ate dinner!"

  
"Do not drag me into your squabble," Drax grumbled as he walked past Mantis into the yard to approach Quill and Gamora, Mantis followed close behind her attention focused on petting Peter.  
  
"Squabble? This is your fault! It was your job to wash the dishes yesterday and now Gamora is gettin' on my ass about it," Quill yelled pointing at Drax.  
  
"It was clearly past midnight when dinner was finished, which made it your day to do the dishes," Drax replied, he raised his voice as if encouraging the beginning of what could end up as a heated fight. If they started throwing punches Peter really hoped he wasn't still in Drax's arms.  
  
Mantis seemed to be unbothered by the conflict and was gently petting Peter's head -despite its placement in Drax’s tall grasp- as she quietly introduced Gamora and Quill to him, unaware that the dog already knew everyone.  
  
"No, no, that is NOT how it works. The day is only over when everyone goes to sleep, and since you didn't go to sleep to make it tomorrow, that still made it your day to do the dishes," Quill yelled as he crossed his arms, now glaring at Drax.  
  
"This is completely ridiculous!" Gamora groaned shaking her head as she covered her eyes with one hand.  
  
"By that logic if I don't go to sleep tonight it is still your turn to do the dishes tomorrow," Drax said after a long pause.  
  
"It only works when everyone goes to sleep, or a majority" Quill replied.  
  
"What percentage of a majority are we talking about here?" Drax said, seeming to consider the concept.  
  
Quill shrugged as he tilted his head slightly obviously just now making up the number, "About 65%."  
  
Drax squinted his eyes and tilted his head, "How do you know when 65% of the world is sleeping? Did you account for time zo-"  
  
"New rule!" Gamora shouted, obviously fed up with the nonsense, "Dish schedules are determined by time of day, NOT when we go to sleep! This rule will be in effect starting yesterday" She looked directly at Quill when she said that. He just gave her a 'what?!' gesture -as if it wasn't his fault they had to make a new rule.  
  
"Oh! Can I write down the new rule?" Mantis said raising her hand.  
  
"Yeah, sure" Gamora said, shrugging and obviously not caring who wrote the new rule down, "Peter get inside and do the damn dishes," she demanded and pointed to Quill.  
  
"Ffffffine!" The groan man whined before pushing past Gamora to walk inside.  
  
"And Drax why are you holding a dog?" She asked confrontationally. Suddenly all attention was on Peter and he felt a little uncomfortable with all the eyes on him.  
  
Drax looked down, seeming to have forgotten he was holding the animal. "This is no mere dog, we have come to the conclusion that this creature is a hybrid. It has the looks of a dog... but the reflexes of a cat," he leaned in slightly whispering that last part as if it was the biggest mystery in the world.

"It's a cute puppy," Mantis said petting Peter again. "We found it in the construction yard, it is hurt and needs help," she said with big eyes.  
  
Gamora stepped down from the single step that was in front of the doorway so she could approach over to the three, "How many times have I told you two not to pick up strays? We already have a raccoon," she pleaded,already exasperated.  
  
And as if on cue, there was an angry hiss and chatter coming from the single tree in the yard as a large metal can was hurled at Gamora from the leaves. She caught it easily with one hand -not even looking away from Drax. She then tossed it back towards the trees base where other small random objects lay, most seeming to be metal components.  
  
"It’s clearly not a stray, it has a collar," Drax said, nodding down at Peter's neck.  
  
Gamora reached over and twisted the very nice looking leather collar around looking for the tags. Mr. Stark never liked the sound of the clanking tags so he ordered a collar with Peter's name and Mr. Stark's address printed and sewn onto the leather.  
  
Gamora gave a small laugh "Guess the dog's name is Peter too... but he lives all the way across town, how did he get over here?"  
  
"The puppy's name is Peter!" Mantis grinned before leaning over to Peter. "Hello, Peter. My name is Mantis," she dragged her name out exaggerating the syllables, like one might do when teaching a baby a new word.

  
~~**Yes, I know.** ~~ Peter leaned up to lick her nose playfully, Mantis just giggled then continued petting Peter.  
  
Gamora was carefully examining the large cut on Peter's side. "How did he even get this?" She asked looking between Drax and Mantis, then seemingly worried, "Please, tell me you didn’t have anything to do with this," she sighed.  
  
Mantis was too distracted -as she was massaging the pads of Peter's paws- to answer, so Drax replied, "Of course not! We would never let our reckless antics harm another creature," he sounded almost offended that she would ask.

  
"We need to take him to the vet, it's a wonder the poor thing didn't bleed out last night," she reached over to gently scratch Peter's chin.  
  
~~**Is it really that bad?** ~~ Peter leaned into Gamora's hand. ~~**Then I guess my healing ability helped with it some. I haven’t even had a chance to test those yet while in dog form.** ~~ **  
**  
"Don't worry, after that we'll get you home," she continued, her tone devolving into the dubbed puppy voice.  
  
Peter froze. ~~**Right... home. God, what am I going to do about Mr. Stark finding out?** ~~ Peter let out a small sigh, he really needed to think about his next course of action.

Mantis pouted, "We have to give the puppy away?" She grabbed Peter's head and hugged it, as if trying to hold onto him.

  
"It wasn't our’s to begin with, the dog obviously has a home and we can't just kidnap it," Gamora pulled her hand away from Peter as she crossed her arms in a resting position, softly scolding Mantis.

  
"There! You happy? I did the dishes," Quill said while he swung open the side door, slamming it against the wall. "Dude, when did we get a dog?" He asked, his annoyed tone from before completely gone.  
  
"This hybrid's name is Peter," Drax said plainly.  
  
"Aw, you guys named a dog after me?" Quill looked honored, of course he'd feel grateful to have a dog named after him, but unfortunately (for him) that wasn't the case.  
  
"Don't be silly, who would want to name a puppy after you?" Mantis said as she rolled her eyes.  
  
Quill's body stiffened up and he quickly became defensive. "What are you talking about? Of course people would. Peter is an awesome name!"  
  
Peter barked in agreement. ~~**Still wish I had my full name though.** ~~  
  
"Peter, we need to go to the vet, go get the keys" Gamora said, addressing the Star Lord, and she started leading everyone to a minivan that was parked on the curb just outside the fence.  
  
"Wait, why?" Quill asked, as he dug the keys out of his pocket.  
  
"The poor puppy got hurt," Mantis pouted, grabbing Peter’s head tighter, she seemed to be taking every opportunity she could get to hold onto Peter's head.  
  
"He has a possibility of bleeding out," Drax said in a dead serious tone as he stared Quill straight in the eyes.  
  
Peter just rolled his eyes, though no one noticed. ~~**It's easy to forget how dramatic you guys are.** ~~  
  
"Shit, seriously?" Quill asked wide eyed. He was distracted enough by the news that he didn't see the small pipe that had just been thrown at his head while he passed the tree. It connected to his skull with a painful _clonk_ , "Fucking hell!" He cursed as he picked up the pipe and hurled it back at the leaves of the tree. "Fuck you, Rocket!"  
  
Drax burst into laughter and Mantis followed, Gamora let out a small chuckle as she shook her head. Peter couldn't help but join.  
  
"I can't believe! You fell for that!" Drax laughed, having to take a breath between sentences, "You were foolish enough to let your guard down around the angry rodent!"  
  
"Fuck you too, Drax!" Quill snapped as he shoved his hands into his pockets and made his way to the driver seat of the van before slamming the door. Peter could hear him grumbling to himself as he started the vehicle.  
  
"Enough picking on Peter, we don't want him crashing the car for the sake of revenge," Gamora warned as she got into the passenger seat.  
  
Mantis opened the back sliding door of the van before crawling into the other side. Drax followed with Peter still in his arms; however, just before he could close the door, Peter's sensitive hearing picked up the quiet cackling of Rocket in the tree. It was then followed with an even quieter _I am Groot._  
  
Peter quickly snapped his head in the direction of the tree even when the door slammed shut.  
  
~~**Groot?!** ~~  
  
He'd been joking before when thinking the tree was Groot, but now there was no denying it, he wasn’t entirely sure what to do with this new information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short chapter but I felt like I kept you guys waiting long enough, the next should be out soon! And of course I always enjoy your comments and suggestions!
> 
> Here's my awesome Beta!  
> [Lostintheclouds321](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostintheclouds321)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have an appropriate dog pun for this chapter :(

It didn't take Peter long to get over the realization that Groot was an actual tree. Though he did make a mental note that he'd investigate Groot and Rocket's existence in this new life further. There was a small chance they might also remember their past.

The car ride to the vet was taking longer then Peter expected, and during that time Drax somehow managed to fall asleep while still keeping Peter secure in his arms. Mantis was playing with his tail, and Gamora and Quill were talking with each other in the front seats. That just left Peter to look out the window.

 ~~ **God, I really screwed up.**~~ Peter let out a small sigh.

After being discovered by Mr. Stark while on the man's laptop, he'll admit panicking wasn't the best idea. Now with a clear head and the adrenaline gone, Peter could think properly. Just because Mr. Stark knew he was smarter then the average dog didn't mean the Influence would immediately know that Peter still had his memory. Even without his memory he probably still would have had the same level of intelligence; so maybe it wasn't such a strange thing.

Thinking a little more on that train of thought Peter came up with a new game plan: He was only going to hide his spider abilities from now on, life might be a little easier with only one secret to hide and it was a secret he had years of experience hiding. It would be a heck of a lot easier to hide that then pretending to have the proper intelligence of a dog... just look where that got him.

Still, he wasn't entirely sure how Mr. Stark was going to react when he got back.

It wasn't too long after he got his thoughts in order that Peter noticed the car slowing down. Drax suddenly jerked awake and seemed momentarily surprised that he was holding a dog but gathered his wits quick enough to open the sliding van door when everyone else started getting out.

As they stepped out, they were all greeted by a small white building with a purple sign that read ‘Veterinary Clinic.’ Mantis climbed out after Drax and was once again petting Peter's head.

"You're going to get all fixed up, Peter," she said gently.

"Yes, this man is the best animal doctor in town. He has helped us keep Rocket in fine health," Drax glanced down at Peter but quickly returned his gaze to the building.

"He’s the best because he's the only vet in town," Quill slammed his door shut and walked around the car, placing himself next to Gamora. They all looked at the small building in silence.

Peter just looked at them. ~~**Are you guys going to stand there all day or...** ~~

After a moment of the four of them being dramatic, Gamora was the first one to snap them out of it, "Come on guys, let’s go. We've got a job to do this afternoon and we can’t be late on account of this dog," she was the first to start walking towards the front door of the building and Drax was the first to follow.

The door opened with a faint chime from the bell overhead. The main hall had that odd medicine smell that couldn’t exactly be named but was common in hospitals. In the middle of the small waiting room was a desk piled with papers and a tired looking man in a while lab coat sat. He looked up at the newcomers from over his glasses.

 ~~**Oh, hey there, Dr. Banner.** ~~ Peter started wagging his tail at the familiar face.

"We have an injured dog-," Gamora started.

"It could possibly be dying!" Drax interrupted.

Quill hit Drax on the back of the head. "That's not true, it just has a bad cut."

Dr. Banner looked a little panicked and he hastily stood up at the mention of the dog dying, but immediately calmed when Quill clarified. He started walking over to them only quickened his pace when he recognized the dog. "You found Peter!" He said relieved. He started looking at Peter's injury when he got close enough.

"Is this you puppy?" Mantis asked.

"No, but he's Tony's," Dr. Banner gently took Peter from Drax. He had to use a little more effort then the larger man to hold the dog, but was managing all the same. "You have no idea how much he's been worrying about you," Dr. Banner said, now addressing Peter.

"What, as in Stark? You think he'll give us a reward?" Quill said as he nudged Drax.

This time, Quill was the one to be hit on the back of the head by Gamora, "We’re just glad to return him safely," she said with a kind smile.

"Yeah, just glad to see the little guy back safe and sound," Quill grumbled reluctantly as he rubbed his head.

Gamora glanced down at her phone, "Come on, guys we’ve got to go"

"Are we not going to make sure the hybrid gets suitable treatment?" Drax asked.

"I'm sure Banner here will patch the dog up well enough, right doc?" Quill asked.

"Of course, you don't have to worry about him anymore and I'll make sure he gets back to Tony when I'm done," Dr. Banner replied.

"See, there ya have it. Come on, gang, let’s hit the road," Quill said and was already at the door.

"We have to make the delivery by this evening, if we don't leave soon we'll be cutting it close," Gamora reaffirmed.

Mantis’ mouth was in a permanent frown. She walked over to Peter and hugged his head. Dr. Banner just stood there awkwardly. "Get well soon, Peter," she walked out the door with her head down.

 ~~**Don't worry Mantis, I'll try to visit!** ~~ Peter barked.

Drax solemnly approached Peter next, "You will be missed, hybrid of dog and cat." Now, Dr. Banner was just confused as he watched the large shirtless man leave.

Gamora and Quill gave their quick goodbyes before walking out the door. Dr. Banner just looked down at Peter. "I can never understand those people," he sighed as he took Peter over to a side room with an examination table. He gently put Peter on the table before he started examining the cut on Peter's chest.

"What made you run Peter?" Dr. Banner sighed. "You do know Tony was out all night looking for you, right?”

 ~~**Yeah, I know. I realize how stupid it was now.** ~~ Peter let out a sigh.

There was only silence as Dr. Banner pulled out the animal equivalent of a first aid kit. He began cleaning the wound, when he finished he leaned back to check his work.

"You're lucky it's just a surface wound, otherwise you might be in bigger trouble. I'll be right back, I'm going to give Tony a call. He'll be glad to know you're safe," he then pulled out his phone and walked out the door.

~~**Strange, Gamora said it was worse. Maybe my healing's kicking in.** ~~

Peter watched the man leave and through the door he exited a very large pitbull walked in. It was black with a greenish sheen that could be easily missed.

 ~~ **HULK HEAR SMALLER DOG GET HURT!** **HULK WILL BITE THOSE WHO HURT HULKS FRIENDS!**~~ The pitbull growled angrily.

Peter just laughed. ~~**I'm fine, Hulk. It was just an accident. No one hurt me.** ~~

~~**Hulk does not like smaller dog's carelessness. Hulk tempted to bite smaller dog for it.** ~~ Hulk got on his hind legs with his front paws leaning on the examining table for support. He was so large that he was almost eye level with Peter who was sitting up on the table. ~~**You must promise Hulk you will be less careless.** ~~

~~**Ok, I promise. I'll be smarter next time. I won’t get hurt.** ~~ Peter gruffed. He bumped his nose against Hulk's trying to give the equivalent of patting his shoulder, but doubted Hulk would get that. Still, it was the thought that counted for Peter.

Hulk’s posture softened ever so slightly at the gesture and he just stared at Peter for a long moment with his eyes narrowed before letting out a small bark followed by a growl. ~~**Good.** ~~ He jumped down from the table and pushed his way out the door.

 ~~**Was that a threat?** ~~ Peter tilted his head as he looked at the closing door.

When he first met the Hulk, it was at the dog park. A lot of dogs were avoiding one of the sections of the park and, of course, Peter had to investigate. It turned out that's where Dr. Banner was relaxing on a blanket watching over Hulk who was tied to a tree with a long leash only a few feet away. Apparently the other dogs didn't like Hulk too much, but Dr. Banner still wanted him to experience the dog park. Unfortunately, that also meant keeping him in a secluded area away from the others. Though it didn't seem like Hulk minded. He didn't like other dogs just as much as they didn't like him.

Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner greeted each other immediately, but Dr. Banner quickly tried to pull Peter out of the range of Hulk's leash. Peter didn't fight it and soon he was staring face to face with a very angry Hulk at the end of his leash.

Dr. Banner kept apologizing to Mr. Stark while still holding onto Peter's collar but while Dr. Banner was talking with Mr. Stark, Peter took the opportunity to talk with the Hulk. He never got the chance to while he was at the compound with the rest of the Avengers, but he always had a feeling that Dr. Banner's alter ego was more than just a rage monster.

And Peter was right.

It's wasn't till the two men realized that there was no more angry barking did they look over at the dogs. Peter had convinced Hulk to play a game of chase, Hulk seemed more than happy to join the game and immediately started wagging his tail. Dr. Banner was baffled at the sight and Peter used to opportunity to slip out of his grasp.

Both men panicked until they realized the two dogs were playing. After that Dr. Banner insisted they both have regular visits to the dog park together.

Peter quickly discovered that Hulk also had no memory of being... well, the Hulk. It was a little disappointing to say the least but Peter found it nice to talk to someone who could actually respond even if he had the mentality of a 5 year old.

There was another chime and the clinic door slammed open. Peter was shaken out of his own thoughts. The door of the examination room was thrown open and next thing Peter knew he was being hugged by Mr. Stark. It made his chest a little uncomfortable but he really didn't care. He was really happy to see Mr. Stark again. Dr. Banner was standing in the doorway as he watched the two.

"Hey, um, Bruce, can you give us a minute?" Mr. Stark asked.

"... Yeah sure," the doctor replied, but had a strange expression on his face at the request, "I'll.. uh, be in the back"

After Dr. Banner left Tony pulled away to look at Peter. He looked exhausted.

 ~~ **I'm sorry.**~~ Peter whimpered as he held his head down.

"I can't believe I'm saying this..." Mr. Stark mumbled to himself, he pulled up a nearby chair to sit on and he turned to face Peter, "But we've got to talk Pete," He kept one of his hands on Peter's shoulders, "I know you can't actually _do_ that, but we’ve got to come up with a system. How about nodding for yes and shaking your head for no?" He asked hesitantly. It was obvious he really wasn't expecting an answer, so when Peter shook his head he looked completely shocked.

"Right," he cleared his throat, "So let's just- basics yeah. Can you understand everything I say?"

Peter nodded.

"Have you always been this smart?"

 ~~**That's a more complicated than you'd think but for simplicity let’s just say yes.** ~~ Peter nodded.

"Were you looking up what kind of dog you were because of yesterday?'

Again Peter nodded.

"Did you mean to go kinda crazy on the thief?"

Peter shook his head.

"Guess you weren't even aware of your bread's traits, probably freaked you out huh?"

Peter nodded quickly.

There was a quiet moment between the two until Mr. Stark spoke again.

"God, my dog's a genius and I don't know even know what kind of yes or no questions I should ask him," Mr. Stark mumbled to himself, "Might as well be asking stupid questions like if you know string theory-"

Peter barked and nodded. ~~**I totally know string theory.** ~~

"What..." Mr. Stark was quiet for a moment, dumbfounded, "Wait... So you like science?" He asked in disbelief.

 ~~**Of course.** ~~ Peter nodded quickly and his tail was wagging.

Mr. Stark quickly stood up and picked up Peter in the process. "We’re going home. I'm making you something to talk with."

Mr. Stark opened the front door alerting Dr. Banner they were leaving, "Tony?" He called.

"Not now Bruce, we're doing science!" Mr. Stark called back.

Peter was ecstatic about the idea of speaking again, even if the solution Mr. Stark came up with would be limited.

After Mr. Stark carried him out the door with the same enthusiasm that Peter felt, it was easy to ignore the pain in his chest along with his constant worry of the Influence.


	8. Science Lab

Peter wasn't entirely sure how exactly Mr. Stark was going to make him speak. It could be a device he used or an actual translator, but Peter was still unsure. Mr. Stark didn't talk much during the drive back and Peter could tell the older man’s mind was buzzing with thoughts. Though he couldn’t tell if it was about giving Peter a voice or if he was still processing everything.

Just as he pulled into the driveway of the house, Mr. Stark jumped out of the car and rushed around to the passenger seat door opening it for Pete.

"How's your chest feel?" The man asked with a little concern in his voice. "Good? Or do you need help?"

~~**It's fine, Mr. Stark.** ~~ Peter barked as he jumped down from the car, he winced slightly when he landed but the pain was nothing compared to when he originally got the cut. 

"I'll take that as you’re fine, then," Mr. Stark sighed. He started walking with Peter to the door but kept his pace even so they were walking side by side, "So, let's see what kind of options we have. You can obviously understand English and read it but when writing do you only know simple words or are you fluent?" Mr. Stark pulled the house keys out of his pocket and started unlocking the door.

~~**I'm fluent.** ~~ Peter barked with a nod.

"Then maybe getting you something to type with, that doesn't involve using your nose, will be a good start," Mr. Stark pushed the door open after it unlocked and he held it open for Peter so he could walk in.

Peter had already started making his way to the basement door when his stomach started growling -reminding him of how hungry he was. He turned looked towards the kitchen then glanced back at Mr. Stark who had just closed the front door.

"What?" Mr. Stark asked as he saw his dog staring at him. Peter nodded towards the kitchen. "Oh, you haven't had anything to eat yet today, have you?"

Peter shook his head.

"Right, well, neither have I,” the older man admitted, “I missed breakfast this morning to look for you," he explained as he walked over to the kitchen.

Peter's ears folded back and he lowered his head. He was feeling a little guilty.

"No, hey, don't do that. It's fine, really. You're here now and we're going to eat breakfast, so all is good," Mr. Stark reached up to the cabinet and pulled out a can of dog food, he looked at if for a moment then looked back at Peter. "Uh, I never asked but do you even like this stuff?" He looked down at Peter who was now sitting by his feet.

~~**Well, it's really not that bad but people food tastes better.** ~~ Peter just shrugged.

Mr. Stark thought for a moment before putting the can back, "Good thing Pepper left for work otherwise she'd kill me for letting you have your own plate," he said with a small laugh. Peter felt his heart soar. 

~~**No, way. Really??** ~~ Peter let out an excited bark.

"You just have to promise not to make a mess," the older man started gathering the different supplies needed to make breakfast. He then pointed a spatula at Peter, "I really mean it, if you're smart enough to do science then you're smart enough not to make a mess at the dinner table."

Peter just nodded.  ~~**Yeah, I know. I got this!** ~~

"Rest up while I finish this. I don't want you tired out before we even make it down to the workshop," he warned.

Peter just rolled his eyes at Mr. Stark as he turned to walk into the living room.

"Don't give me that sass, young man," Mr. Stark said, almost laughing, "God, I can’t believe my dog is not only self aware but also acts like a teenager... thinking back it all makes sense," he said to himself, it was obvious Peter wasn't supposed to hear that, but his enhanced hearing didn't exactly have an off switch.

Speaking of his enhanced attributes, his healing always made Peter a little tired when it was in effect, and now that he had nothing to do or worry about while Mr. Stark was making breakfast, he felt his eyes go heavy as he laid curled up on the couch.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed but he woke to Mr. Stark gently petting his head. "Hey, Pete. Did you want to sleep a little more or are you ready to eat?" He asked gently, Peter saw the man's eyes give a worried glance at Peter's bandaged chest.

**I'm fine, Mr. Stark.** Peter stood up with a yawn and nodded his head as he jumped down from the couch. Mr. Stark followed with his hands in his pockets as Peter went to the dining table. A chair was already pulled out for him with a plate of food set in front of it. Peter climbed onto the chair with barley any struggle, though his chest still hurt at times during the action.

Mr. Stark was hovering around Peter, it made him realize the man was probably not aware of the severity of Peter's injury.

"You good?" Mr. Stark asked.

Peter rolled his eyes and motioned towards Mr. Stark's seat with his head.

"Alright, fine," the man laughed as he held his hands up in defense. "Just making sure, that's all."

~~**You worry too much, Mr. Stark. I'm probably almost healed anyways.** ~~ Peter gruffed as he leaned down to sniff the bacon and eggs that lay on the plate before him. His sensitive nose only amplified the delicious aroma, though. Somehow, he managed to hold off eating long enough for Mr. Stark to sit down first. Once he did start digging in, he made sure he was careful. Despite the strong urge to practically inhale the meal, he ate it at a reasonable pace.

"I'm eating breakfast with my dog," Mr. Stark mumbled as he picked up his fork. It was obvious the man was still coming to terms with things.

Peter couldn't help but laugh, which sounded like an uneven huff.  **~~You've done weirder in your normal life, fighting giant alien whales for one~~. **

"Yeah, you probably think this is hilarious," Mr. Stark said shaking his head.

Peter shrugged with the best smirk he could manage.

"Give me a break, it's not every day I find out my dog has super intelligence," he laughed.

~~**Let's hope you don't find out about my spider abilities, that might cause you to short circuit.** ~~

After a moment, silence fell between the two as they ate.

"Ok, so I got this idea but you’re not going to like it, but it's temporary until we can find something better."

Peter looked up from licking his plate clean, he was pretty proud not making a mess of things.

"So we get a muzzle..."

Peter narrowed his eyes at the man, he was right, Peter didn't like the idea.

After a quick explanation and both of them going down to the basement workshop, Peter was fitted with a muzzle that had an unsharpened pencil duct-taped to the snout of it.

"Like I said, temporary," Mr. Stark clarified. He had his laptop in hand and placed it in front of Peter who sat on one of the stools of the workshop. Peter didn't recognize the program that was opened, but if he was to guess it was text to speech software. "Well, go ahead," Mr. Stark gestured to the computer, "say something." The man was obviously trying to hide his excitement in hearing his dog's first words to him.

Peter thought for a moment then started typing. With the eraser end of the pencil being pushed against the keyboard it was so much easier to type something compared to before when he was using his nose. He finally pressed enter and a synthetic voice read his words.

<Hello Mr. Stark, my name is Peter. This muzzle is squishing my nose.>

"My dog can speak!" Mr. Stark laughed, but his mind quickly caught up to what Peter actually said. "Oh, shit. Sorry about that," he said before adjusting the muzzle.

<Thanks> Peter typed after the muzzle was readjusted.

"So," Mr. Stark said after a beat. "I'm still wondering why you didn't want me to know," he asked as he crossed his arms. He leaned against the table as he watched Peter type.

Peter didn't want to lie to Mr. Stark so he settled on a half truth instead. 

<I didn't want to be taken away.>

Mr. Stark's eyes softened as he looked down at Peter, he reached over and scratched behind the dog's ear affectionately. "Well, you have nothing to worry about, buddy."

Peter just nodded, leaning into the touch. Sadly, he doubted Mr. Stark could stop the Influence from taking Peter's memory if they found out, and what was a person without their memories? Much less who would Peter be, a dog without his memories. 

Peter soon pulled away and started typing again. <We should get to work on something more efficient.>

"By we, you mean I?" Mr. Stark said as he turned away. He grabbed a notebook and already started scratching down ideas.

<It's not my fault I don't have thumbs.>

Mr. Stark just wrote something then looked back at Peter "Hey, what about a direct translator? Surly you could help be bridge the gap between canine and human communication."

Peter sighed before typing. <This is a long explanation, it will take time to type.>

Mr. Stark just nodded as he waited.

<For a long time I had the same idea when I was contemplating ways to communicate, not that I would have been able to create a device but it was a fun thinking exercise. As I started paying attention to the differences between human language and dog language I noticed that they were completely incompatible. A single bark from a dog can mean anything from a hello to a warning or even just the animal making noise. There seems to be, I hate to say this but I have no other explanation for it, some kind of telepathic communication between animals. I don't fully understand it myself but whenever I'm speaking to another dog, I always automatically know what they're trying to say. If we want any more information we might have to talk to a raven.>

"A raven?"

<They are the only animal I know of that can speak to those outside their species.>

"I thought all animals could just... speak to each other." Mr. Stark said as he wrote something in his notebook.

Peter just shook his head. <This isn't a Disney movie>

"Hardy har har," Mr. Stark rolled his eyes.

<What, it's true.>

"Alright fine, translation is off the table," He sighed scratching out the idea in his notebook.

<What if you made a device that could tap into the language center of the brain?>

"Not a bad idea, but technology like that has been sought after for years. What makes you like I can build that?" Mr. Stark tossed his notebook on the desk. "It's not like I'm Iron Man, that guy could probably build something like that in his sleep."

~~**You have no idea how funny that statement is.** ~~ Peter shook his head with an amused look in his eyes.

"What?"

<I think you're just as smart as Iron Man.>

"Whatever," Mr. Stark said shaking his head. "Anyway, with that idea I'll need to study the workings of a dog brain or we could get Bruce to join us. Would you be ok with that? His insight would make this process a lot faster." 

Like usual, Peter noticed the sudden change in subject away from anything Avengers related, but it wasn’t something he could mention.

Instead, Peter considered telling Dr. Banner for a moment, but couldn't see a reason for not telling him. Really, there wasn't much point of keeping his intelligence from everyone, it wasn't like they would do anything about it and the only thing he was really worried about was the Influence knowing he remembered. As long as he kept that secret along with his spider powers there wouldn't be much problem.

<I don't see why not.>

"Great! I'll call him over right now," Mr. Stark pulled out his phone, Peter could hear the dial tone ring twice before the line was picked up. "Hey, Brucey Bear. Do I have some news for you," Mr. Stark was grinning at the prospects of how Dr. Banner might react to Peter's discovered intelligence.


	9. Chapter 9

Dr. Banner just stood there for a long moment, staring at Peter.

"So your dog... has hyper intelligence?" He asked skeptically.

"Well, for a dog yeah. I don't know what his IQ is compared to humans," Mr. Stark said as he leaned against one the the workbench tables.

Peter was sitting on a stool watching them both, he started to type. <My intelligence is above average on human scale.>

"How do I know you didn't just teach him to say that?" Dr. Banner asked looking at Mr. Stark.

"Would I really pull a prank on you like this?" Mr. Stark tried to protest.

"Yes, actually, you would," Dr. Banner said plainly before looking back at Peter.

Mr. Stark just laughed, "Ok, yeah, I would, but I promise I'm not this time.”

<What if you asked me something that only I would know?> Peter suggested.

Dr. Banner thought for a moment before speaking to take Peter’s suggestion into consideration, "Last year at the Christmas party, what did I accidentally do?" 

Peter had to think, the event was something from their fake memories but everything was constant in his memories.  

Mr. Stark was trying to think back to that same party, but of course was drawing a blank.

<While Mr. Stark was passed out from Clint’ spiked eggnog, you tried to carry him to his room and accidentally broke his USS Enterprise replica that was in the hallway.>

"That was you!?" Mr. Stark asked, slightly outraged. 

"Huh, so your dog  _ is _ intelligent," Dr. Banner said surprised. He completely disregarded Mr. Stark's reaction. 

"It took me weeks to fix that!" Mr. Stark huffed, still hung over on the past grievance. 

"So, Peter can you talk with other animals?" Dr. Banner asked.

Mr. Stark crossed his arms, practically pouting as he was being ignored.

<Only other dogs.>

"You said something about how ravens are the only ones that can talk to other species?" Mr. Stark pushed off the desk and walked over to where Peter sat with the laptop. He looked at the speech to text history reading over Peter's side of the conversation they had earlier. "Yeah, you said if we wanted to know more about animal communication we'd need to talk to a raven."

"Why ravens?" Dr. Banner asked.

Peter was kinda hoping to avoid that question, he had no idea if other ravens had that ability but there was one raven specifically that he'd seen around town that definitely had the ability to, despite the raven being kind of a jerk, he could also be helpful sometimes.

<I don't know, it just is.> Peter managed to shrug.

"I'm sure we can figure that out when we get a portable voice for you," Mr. Stark suggested before looking over at Dr. Banner. "So what do you think? Want to help us?"

"This whole situation is too interesting not to, but I'm not even sure if I can help," Dr. Banner said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Nonsense, of course you can! Pete here had the idea of tapping into the language center of the brain but seeing that I'm a mechanic and not a biologist, I can't exactly do it myself." 

"Tony, I'm just a vet, and you own a hardware store. We're not exactly the world's leading scientists,” Dr. Banner said with a faint laugh. 

~~**As far as you know.** ~~ Peter gruffed before he started typing again.

<Don't sell yourself short doc, I've seen what you've been working on in you free time. You can do this.>

"Bruce, have you been doing science without me?" Mr. Stark beamed, sounding all like a proud parent.

"It's nothing, just theories," Dr. Banner said shyly, trying to wave it off.

"Always so modest," Mr. Stark said patting the other man on the back.

<Maybe you could learn a thing or two, Mr. Stark.> Peter joked.

"I think I like him even more, now that he can talk," Dr, Banner laughed.

"Shut up," Mr. Stark said defensively but not at all offended, "now come on, let’s do some science."

* * *

 

That first day the two were surprisingly efficient despite Dr. Banner getting a few calls relating to his veterinary job, and on the second day, they were working on the project almost nonstop. Pepper wouldn't be home till later tomorrow, so there was no one there to keep their passion for science in check. They consumed coffee like it was air and worked ridiculous hours. 

By the time they finally had a product worth testing, they had reached the 38 hour mark.

"Alright Peter, we're either going to fry your brains or give you a voice," Mr. Stark said as he lowered the clunky metallic helmet onto Peter's head. The muzzle with the pencil was removed; over the past two days, he hadn't worn it much unless he needed to tell them something.

~~**Sorry, what?** ~~ He shot Dr. Banner a concerned look.

"Don't worry he's joking... right?" Dr. Banner looked up from the computer as he made a few calibrations.

"Of course, I wouldn't risk Peter like that," Mr. Stark grinned as he turned the helmet on.

**"You do have that mad scientist vibe,"** Peter said, the simulated voice sounded like the voice he had when he was human. He froze after hearing it. Everyone in the room went wide eyed.

"Oh, my god, it actually worked," Dr. Banner said with his mouth open.

"Ha! You can speak!" Mr. Stark said raising his hands in victory. "Why do you sound like a teenager? Aren't you supposed to be thirty-something in dog years?"

**"I have no idea, you're the one that made the device. If it bothers you so much maybe if you recalibrate the speaker for a lower octave as a base. Then you might get what you want. But personally, I like the sound of my new voice and I might bite you if you try,"** Peter said in warning, at that point he was just talking for the sake of talking. It was so nice to have a voice again.

Dr. Banner started laughing, "I never though your dog would be sassy, but it's suiting," he stated, cleaning things up, and Mr. Stark unhooked the helmet from the computer. They had to strap a bag onto Peter's back for the battery.

"What's stopping me from raising it an octave higher?" Mr. Stark joked without any malicious tone behind his voice.

**"My teeth,"** Peter said with a faint growl. 

Mr. Stark just grinned, shaking his head. Peter could tell the man was too excited about the invention actually working to let any kind of teasing get him down.

"Hey buddy, what do you say about taking a stroll to Main Street?" Mr. Stark asked.

**"Well, I guess there's not much point in hiding my intelligence anymore, so I don't see why not."**

"Bruce did you want to join us?" Mr. Stark asked.

"No, I need to get back to Hulk, then sleep for the next 18 hours if I don't want to feel like crap on Monday," Dr. Banner yawned. 

**"Sleep is for the weak,"** Peter joked, it never realized how much he missed talking. He was going to take full advantage of his new voice.

"I'll take my chances," Dr. Banner said as he grabbed his coat then took the stars out of the basement workshop. 

"See ya Bruce," Tony called before looking back at Peter. "First things first, I'm going to take a shower and then we’ll go grab coffee from Sam's.”

**"Sounds like a plan,"** Peter said as he followed the man up the stairs.

* * *

 

The lack of sleep was obviously getting to Tony as when they took their normal route to Main Street, it took them a bit longer. But once the older man had his coffee, he'd probably be good for the rest of the day.

Stepping into Sam's coffee shop, they were met with a pleasant atmosphere. There was the usual coffee shop vibe but the design of the place made you think you stepped through time with it's 1940s decor. 

"Jesus, Stark, what'd you do to your dog?" Sam Wilson asked as he dried a mug with a clean rag. He looked down at the strange new device on Peter's head. "Please tell me you didn't make him a cyborg? We don't need a doggy revolution."

**"Too late, my master plan is already in progress! There's nothing you humans can do to stop me now, mwahahaha!"**

Sam jumped back and gave Mr. Stark a wide eyed expression. The genius was having a hard time keeping in his laughter, "We need to work on your social etiquette, kid."

**"I saw an opportunity, I had to take it,"** Peter looked up at Mr. Stark then showed his teeth in the closest thing to a grin he could manage. He then walked over to the front counter before jumping up to let his front feet rest on the counters edge for support.  **"Sorry, Sam. I'm not actually out for world domination. Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner made me a helmet that lets me talk. I'm still the same dog, promise,"** Peter held out his paw to Sam.

The man was still wide eyed and skeptical but he took Peter's paw in a light shake. "Nice to officially meet you Peter... I guess." 

"Pete's a good boy, he wouldn't start the revolution without giving us a heads up, right?" Mr. Stark asked jokingly.

**"As far as you know,"** Peter said casually looking away.

Mr. Stark just laughed before turning to Sam again, asking for his usual.

Just as Mr. Stark was being handed his drink the store bell dinged quietly and two new customers walked in. The scent of metal immediately brought Peter's attention their way. Just as Peter suspected, two ex-super soldiers stood in the doorway.

Bucky had a guilty look on his face as he leaned into whisper something to Steve, "Come on, Steve. Let's just come back later."

"Bucky, you can't keep avoiding him. He needs to know you're getting better," Steve said in a firm yet reassuring voice.

Mr. Stark was still joking about cyborg dog armies with Sam but the moment he turned to leave his lingering smile morphed into a scowl when he spotted Bucky. 

"James," Mr. Stark said curtly.

**"Mr. Stark, let's just go,"** Peter said trying to nudge the man towards the door. 

The tension between Bucky and Mr. Stark started months back according to Peter's false memories. Bucky and Steve were veterans, of which war Peter didn't know, but he was sure the influence came up with something. Everything was fine at first, and everyone got along -as far as Peter could remember- until Bucky snapped.

It was like any other evening when Mr. Stark and Pepper went to bed. Peter stayed out on the couch and was awoken by the back door quietly opening, his nose was met with an unfamiliar scent and he immediately went to investigate. Bucky stood there with dark eyes and a knife in hand, Peter's instincts took hold and he attacked the intruder. The man obviously wasn't expecting the dog, which was to Peter's advantage. He was able to knock Bucky over and the man’s head hit against the countertop in the process. This seemed to knock Bucky out of whatever trance he was in and he was able to run off just as Mr. Stark walked in to see the commotion.

The police were called immediately and Bucky was arrested. Somehow, Steve managed to convince Pepper to tell Tony to drop the charges, claiming that Bucky's actions were due to his PTSD. Thinking back on it, Peter was pretty sure that was the Winter Soldier part of Bucky that had seeped into everyone's altered memories. It was something he was  _ sure _ the Influence wasn't aware of, since for the most part everyone was supposed to be happy here.

"Tony," Bucky replied after only an odd glance at Peter.

"That's Stark to you," Mr. Stark replied.

**"Mr. Stark,"** Peter grabbed the man's pant leg as they passed the two soldiers. He made sure to keep himself between Mr. Stark and the other's as they passed to go out the door. 

After a tense moment of uncertainty, Peter managed to get Mr. Stark out the door without an incident. 

"I should have him arrested for what he did," Mr. Stark practically growled. 

**"I don't think that would be good for anyone,"**

"What you're defending him to?" Mr. Stark said shocked.

**"No, but you didn't see him. It was like something else was in control of his actions."**

"Peter, he had a knife! Who knows what he was planning to do!" Mr. Stark protested. 

Peter had a pretty solid idea. In that moment of intrusion, he had looked more like the Winter Soldier than Bucky.

**"Look, everything's fine now, let's just drop it,"** Peter glanced across the street.  **"How about we go say hi to Rhodey,"** Peter led Mr. Stark to Rhodey, who was just now opening his shop.

Mr. Stark just grumbled but followed anyways.

**"Hey, Rhodey!"** Peter called with a bark.

Rhodey turned around looking confused at the new voice but his expression turned strange as he looked down at Peter's helmet. He glanced up at Mr. Stark for an explanation.

"Bruce and I made a thing so Peter could talk," Mr. Stark said bluntly. 

"Thought you might be more excited about something like that," Rhodey said with a glance towards the coffee shop.

**"He ran into Steve and Bucky while at Sam's,"** Peter let out a small sigh.

"I gathered as much," Rhodey said before pushing open the door to his shop. "Well, you're both here. Might as come in."

Peter was the first to follow with Mr. Stark not far behind.

"So, you want to tell me why your dog has a thinking cap and can speak?" Rhodey started his opening tasks as he turned on the lights and prepared the cash register.

"Thought you'd be a little more surprised at that," Mr. Stark grinned.

"Tony, I've known you long enough that your inventions hardly surprise me," Rhodey laughed. "Did it have to do with Peter running away?"

"In a way, turns out my dog is a genius," His anger from before faded away and he gave Rhodey a smug grin.

**"He caught me looking at his laptop, I may have overreacted with running away."**

Despite Rhodey's casual outward appearance it was obvious that he was still kinda weirded out by the fact that Peter could talk, "So.. what about that," he asked while gesturing to the bandages on Peter's chest.

**"An accident that happened when I was running. Don't worry, Dr. Banner already looked at it."**

"Just making sure Tony didn't go all mad scientist on you," Rhodey shrugged. 

"Why do you guys keep calling me that?" Mr. Stark was leaning against the counter as he eyed some of the cookies that Rhodey just put out.

**"You are totally a mad scientist!"**

"I'm pretty sure your dog is proof," Rhodey added.

The doorbell chimed before anything could be added. "Now shoo, I've got customers," Rhodey waved him away before greeting a mother and daughter pair that walked in. The little girl looked around at the three of them with a grin before Mr. Stark and Peter found seats in the corner of the shop.

"So why so formal, Pete?" Mr. Stark asked the moment they both sat down, Peter just tilted his head. "You're always saying Mr. Stark, everyone else is just casual... well, except Bruce."

**"Oh, well, I've just always called you Mr. Stark,"** Peter managed a shrug. 

"You can just call me Tony," Mr. Sta- Tony said as he pulled out a phone.

**"Ok... Tony,"** Peter tested. They both sensed a presence next to them and when Peter turned his head, a little girl in brown braids was standing by to their table.

"Can I pet your dog?" She asked with a smile, she was missing one of her front teeth.

Tony just shrugged gesturing towards Peter, "You'll have to ask him."

The little girl tilted her head slightly with a confused look before turning to Peter, "Can I pet you?" 

**"Of course, I like getting pet,"** Peter leaned forward slightly as he wagged his tail. 

The little girl pet the side of his face and down his neck since she couldn't exactly reach the top of his head because of the helmet. "You're so soft," She giggled.

"Come on Anna," the girl's mother called.

Anna frowned looking back at her mom, "Okay." She glanced back at Peter before giving him a last pet, "Goodbye, Peter," she grinned before running off. 

**"Bye!"** He said happily. Getting pets from random children was practically a necessity as a dog and would immediately put him in a good mood, but that good mood faded once he realized something... she shouldn’t have known his name.

He glanced over at Rhodey then back at the door, Peter could've sworn that his hearing didn't pick up his name being mentioned. 

"Everything alight?" Tony asked after taking the final sip of his coffee.

**"Um,"** Peter was still staring at the door that Anna left through, something told him he probably shouldn't mention it.  **"No, just thought I saw a squirrel,"** Peter lied. Tony's eyes glanced towards the helmet before looking at Peter again, some unknown emotion flashed over his eyes before he smiled.

"Do dogs really go crazy over those things?" He asked humorously. 

**"Unfortunately, yeah,"** Peter laughed, his eyes still trained on the door before he finally looked back at the man.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had some writers block, its better now... also sorry for the short chapter.

“Okay, so we’re going to see a raven about the language of animals…” Tony gazed up at the trees above them as they both walked on the stone path of the towns local park.

**“Well, when you put it that way it makes us sound like lunatics,”** Peter was also watching the trees, but his mind wasn’t on the task at hand.

He couldn’t stop thinking back to the little girl, it wasn’t just the fact that she knew his name but she just felt off somehow. Maybe she was connected to the influence? If so then he might need to stay away from her until he has more information, but considering his progress so far, he was starting to doubt he’d ever figure any of this out.

“There’s a group of ravens up there,” Tony pointed out, the sound of his voice broke Peter from his current train of thought and he looked in the direction the older man gestured to. 

**“No, those are crows,”** Peter shook his head lightly.

“There’s a difference?”

**“Yeah, ravens are bigger and fly with small groups, also the tail feathers are different shapes,”** Peter followed along the path then lead Tony down a dirt trail that was rarely used **.**

“And how do you know all this? Is this something you googled?”

Peter shook his head again, the wires of the helmet clainked against the metal base,  **“Nope, apparently if you accuse a raven of being a crow they get very offended by it. Had to sit through a whole lesson about what the difference was.”**

“If we made a tinny helmet for this bird, do you think it might enjoy teaching elementary?” Tony joked.

**“I don’t think he has the temperamental,”** Peter laughed. He glanced up at the surrounding trees in the small clearing they found themselves in. For the most part the place was surprisingly lush with vegetation.

Peter gave the best frown a dog could muster, the trees were empty of birds,  **“He’s usually here.”**

“Out for a late lunch?”

**“I don’t think so…”** Peter trailed off as he glanced back the way they came,  **“Unless… wait, I think I know where he went.”**

Peter quickly trotted back down the path they just came from, Tony followed close behind.

* * *

 

“Why are we at Thor’s place?” Tony asked as they both looked up at the arching sign that read  _ ‘Odinson’s Ranch’  _ from the front seats of Tony’s car. Since it was at least a mile out of town the two had to walk back home to get a vehicle.

Peter shugged, **“I think he likes to mess with the horses for fun.”**

“This bird sounds like a jerk.”

**“Well, you’re not wrong.”**

Slowly pulling forward, Tony drove down a narrow dirt road that led to a large two story farmhouse with a number of barns, cattlegards, and animal pins scattered around it.

Peter was sticking his head out the widow with his front paws resting on the door, he’d never been out to Thor’s ranch before so the new sight was a welcomed adventure.

Tony pulled up to the front house and parked at the edge of the grass, it wasn’t long until the screen door of the house opened, thereby revealing the golden haired Asgardian. (Peter was pretty sure the influence turned him human.)

Tony was the first to get out before walking around the car to open the door for Peter.

“Stark! My friend! What brings you out here to my land this Sunday?” Thor said carefully as he walked across the front yard meeting them halfway. He glanced down at Peter giving a confused smile after seeing the contraption on his head, “And why does your canine have that object on his head?”

**“Tony build a contraption for me so that I could talk,”** Peter said wagging his tail.

“That is marvelous! Such wondrous things come from that mind of yours, do you think you could craft one for Mjolnir? I have always been curious to know why she only lets me ride her,” Thor glanced over to one of the large barns.

“Maybe sometime Thor, we’re still trying to figure things out with that. It’s actually why we came here,” Tony scratched the back of his head.

“I’m not sure I am qualified to help in such matters but I will do what I can,” The former demi-god said with a smile.

**“We’re actually looking for a raven, they’re good with different animal languages and we were hoping to learn from it.”**

“I know of only one raven that flys around these parts, I spotted him this morning when tending the cattle. Fickle thing that one, it’s always up to mischief but will occasionally act friendly. It once spooked Mjolnir causing her to nearly buck me off, if I hadn’t known any better it might have been laughing at me afterwards,” Thor said with an amused smile, contrast to the anger one usually would’ve displayed at the plain sabotage. “It has a particular tree it likes to rest in,” Thor motioned for them to follow as he started walking around the house, “This way, I’ll show it to you.”

**“If it’s the same raven I met, then it probably** **_was_ ** **laughing,”** Peter said as he and Tony followed. 

“Thor I must say, you’re taking this thing about the raven being the rosetta stone of the animal world surprisingly well,” Tony said suspiciously.

“Ah, well, I guess most might question it, but my father always believed that ravens are the watchers of earth. Highly intelligent in their ways but still choosing not to interfere in the affairs of humans. They are messengers and omen tellers but don’t tell their secrets to just anyone. He’d often tell me the story of the one eyed king who watched over a city of gold, two ravens sat on his shoulders and would tell him the goings of the realms,” Thor spoke of the story with such fondness, but there was a sadness to his tone.

**“The king’s name was Odin, right?”** Peter asked. Thor’s false memories had always been the closest to his real ones, Peter suspected that it might have been Asgardian magic, but unfortunately whatever he knew of his real past was turned into myth and legend.

“Ney, you’ve mistaken my father with the raven king,” Thor chuckled. 

**“Right, sorry,”** Peter said glancing away.

“All is forgiven, though even I have to admit the two have their similarities,” Before anymore could be said on the subject they approached a large dead tree. The branches looked like tendrils that reached into the sky, despite the lack of leaves it was still difficult to see into the thick group of branches. “Here we are. I’m sure the raven you’re looking for his still here. I’ve noticed his habit of hanging around till night fall, I suspect he has a rost somewhere in town.”

“Do we just call up to it?” Tony asked.

“Peter has spoken with it before, so yes? Maybe if he calls it will choose to answer.”

**“I guess here goes nothing,”** Peter sighed.  **“Raven! It’s me, Peter. I was wondering if you could answer some questions!”** Peter barked up at the tree as his translator spoke words.

~~_How do you expect me to sleep with the racket you’re making!_~~ An annoyed caw rang down from the branches.

**“Oh, sorry… we’re just wanting to ask a few questions if that’s alright?”**

“Guess the thing doesn't want to be disturbed?” Tony asked looking down at Peter, he was surprised the raven even responded.

**“We interrupted his nap,”** Peter replied. The two men just nodded in understanding, naps were not meant to be disturbed.

It was a moment later that the raven swooped down to land on the white painted fence that bordered the backyard.

_ “I was wondering when you would come looking for me,”  _ The raven spoke in a scratchy voice.

“Shit, it talks?!” Tony said jumping back. It was one thing for his dog to talk with the help of a translator but it was another to see a raven actually speak.

Thor grinned whildly, “It seems my father’s tales were true.”

~~_ More than you know. _ ~~ The raven cawed but only Peter heard the words. He wondered what they meant; the raven seemed to only want to tell Peter for a reason.

_ “You two are crossing boundaries that shouldn’t even be considered,”  _ the raven almost sounded annoyed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tony raised an eyebrow. 

_ “Humans and animals were never meant to talk with one another, you shouldn’t alter nature like that! Destroy the machine before the consequences are dealt!”  _ The crow spoke firmly. Without another word it flew off disappearing into the tree.

“That was a waste of time,” Tony said, annoyed with their lack of progress.

“I would suggest you head the words of the raven, surly it would know more on the matter then you,” Thor said with a worried expression.

“I’m not letting some bird tell me what I can’t do,” Tony snarked before turning, “Come on Pete, guess we’ll have to figure out this language thing on our own.”

Tony stared walking back towards the front and Peter quickly followed, but not before saying his goodbyes to Thor.


End file.
